All-In-One
by bandgeek18
Summary: A Mother's Day project in school has Roy upset, but Dinah is there to make things better. One-shot.


A/N: This is just a short Mother's Day fic I wrote today. Enjoy!

The ceramic orange pot and bright sharpie markers made Roy want to throw something. Preferably the flower pot at his teacher. Unfortunately, a voice in his head was telling him that he definitely wouldn't be allowed to patrol if he got suspended from school. 'This is such a stupid assignment,' he thought as he crossed his arms and slouched down in his seat. 'Why do we need to decorate flower pots anyway?' Realistically, he knew it was because Mother's Day was on Sunday, but he still didn't understand why that was a reason to be doing this dumb activity.

"I'm drawing music notes because my mom likes to sing," Brittney, one of the kids at his desk group said. "And birds. She likes birds too."

"My mom is a lawyer," Scott replied. "So I'm drawing books and pens because her office has a lot of big books and she writes a lot."

"I'm drawing food because my mom is chef," Alex added, his attention focused on his drawings.

Brittney looked at Roy, then frowned at how empty his flower pot was. "Why aren't you drawing anything?" she asked.

"Don't feel like it," Roy shrugged.

"Why not? Do you not know what your mom likes?"

Roy resisted the urge to flinch. "Yeah. I don't know anything she likes."

Unfortunately, his teacher came over at that moment and frowned when she saw Roy's bare flower pot. "Roy," she said. "Why aren't you drawing?"

"I don't want to."

"Class activities aren't a choice, Roy. Everyone in the class has to participate."

"I- I don't know what to draw."

"I'm sure you'll think of something." She smiled and rubbed his shoulder a little bit. "Just think of the things that make your mom happy."

Roy scowled at her back as she left. 'Great advice, thanks.'

"Why don't you want to draw?" Alex asked, stopping briefly in his scribble start were supposed to resemble spaghetti.

There was a moment of silence before Roy answered. "I- I don't have a mom."

"What?" Scott asked, shocked. "Everyone has a mom!"

"Well, I don't."

"Are you sure?" Brittney asked him.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Does that make you sad?"

"No.." He tried to keep his voice from shaking. "Why should it?"

"Moms are great!" Alex informed him. "They cook yummy food."

'Ollie can do that,' Roy thought.

"And their skin is really soft and they have nice hair."

'Dinah seems to really like Ollie's hair. She compliments him on it enough.'

"Moms also know how to take care of you when you're sick," Scott added.

'Ollie does that.'

"And they sing really pretty," Brittany told him.

'Ollie sings to me every night.' Roy sat up a little in his chair. "Are you guys sure this is the stuff moms do?"

"Absolutely."

Roy sighed, then saw his teacher looking at him. The activity was still stupid, but Roy really didn't want to get sent to the principal over it. So he picked up a green marker and started drawing.

— —

After school, Roy stood in front of the building, holding his decorated flower pot, now with a flower planted in soil. He scowled at it. "I should just throw you into the street," he informed the flower. "You're so dumb."

"Dumb?" Dinah asked. She smiled as Roy jumped, then looked up at her.

"What're you doing here?"

"Ollie got held up at the office so he asked me to pick you up." She eyed the flower pot in his hands, then how other third graders were handing theirs off to their moms. She turned back to Roy. "Ready to go?"

"Mhm." Roy followed Dinah to the car, his feet dragging. 'Stupid plant. I should throw it away. It's not like I need it.'

The silence from Roy concerned Dinah. While he wasn't quite the chatterbox some of his cohorts were, he wasn't constantly silent like this either. However, Dinah waited until they were in the car before she addressed Roy. "How was your day?"

"Fine…"

"Fine, huh? What's with the plant?"

Roy scowled even more. "It's stupid. We had to decorate the flower pots and plant flowers in them for Mother's Day."

"Ahhh…" She could see how Roy might have a problem with such an activity. "Are you going to keep it for yourself?"

"No. All the other kids get to give their's away. Why should I have to be different and keep mine?"

"Fair point."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"What was your mom, like?"

A sad smile crossed Dinah's face. "My mother was one of the strongest women I knew."

"Because she was a hero?"

"That, and other reasons. Things were very different back then, Roy. A lot of people thought women were less than men, but my mom ever let that stop her. She went out and helped people with pride. It didn't matter what anyone said, because she knew she was doing the right thing."

Roy pouted a little. "Sounds awesome to have a mom."

"…You might not have a mom, but you have other people. Like Oliver."

"Yeah, but Ollie's not a mom. He has a beard!"

Dinah chuckled a little. "Beard aside, I'm sure you can think of some mother like qualities about Oliver."

"Well… The people in my desk group said moms cook good food. And Ollie is a good cook. And he can sing nice."

"Moms also give you advice and help you."

"Ollie helps me a lot."

"A mom also takes care of you."

"Do moms do all the same things dads do?"

Dinah smiled at him in the rearview mirror. "Pretty much."

Roy was quiet for a couple minutes. "I don't want to call Ollie my dad because- Because Brave Bow was my dad and I- I don't want to replace him. You know?" He looked in the mirror and Dinah gave him a look of sympathy as she nodded. "But…I've never had a mom… So if I call Ollie my mom, then he won't be replacing anyone. Right?"

"Seems like sound logic to me."

Roy nodded, then looked back down at his plant. "Will Ollie like this plant though?"

"I'm sure he'll love it. In fact, why don't we stop and get a bag you can put it in so Oliver can open it up?"

"That sounds good. You know a lot about this mom stuff, Dinah."

"Thanks." In truth, Dinah was just happy she'd managed to get the sad look of Roy's face. The boy still looked apprehensive, but now he also looked out the window instead of scowling at his plant. 'Good. I hate seeing him upset and I know Oliver does too.'

The two of them stopped at the store on their way home to get a bag to put Roy's flower in. Roy held Dinah's hand as they walked and moved closer to her when they passed an aisle with all kinds of Mother's Day stuff. 'I hope Dinah is right and it's ok to give Ollie my plant,' Roy thought. 'Otherwise, I'm just gonna throw it away.'

"What about this bag?" Dinah asked, holding up a green bag. "It's his favorite color."

Roy frowned. "But all the other stuff is like…pink."

"…True. Do you want to give Oliver a pink bag?"

"Uh…" Roy glanced back at the other isle, then looked at Dinah, suddenly a little defiant. "If I can call Oliver my mom than why wouldn't I be able to give him a pink bag?"

"Excellent point." Dinah put the green bag back, then took Roy's hand and led him over to the aisle with the Mother's Day stuff. She looked them over before selecting one that was pink with a design of what flowers on it. "What about this one?"

"…Sure."

"Ok, then."

Roy kept glancing at Dinah from the corner of his eye as they walked. 'Dinah seems pretty serious about this whole thing,' he thought. 'I hope that means it's true that Ollie can be my mom. Or….mom-like at least.' It concerned him a little bit to give any kind of parental title to Oliver. Even if he did love the man and being his sidekick, it still felt weird. Especially since Oliver never called him a son. 'But I don't know what else to do with my plant. As long as Ollie is mom-like I can give it to him and it won't be really different from what the other kids in my class are doing.'

Neither Roy or Dinah spoke until they were back in the car. "Do you want to give it to Oliver on Sunday?" Dinah asked once she was driving Roy toward home.

"No. Then I'd have to take care of it until then. I'll give it to Ollie tonight." Roy frowned suddenly. "I've never celebrated Mother's Day before. Is that allowed?"

Dinah smiled at him in the rearview mirror. "Whatever you want to do. There's no wrong way to do Mother's Day."

"Tonight then."

"Sounds good."

Thankfully, Oliver still wasn't home when they got there. It gave Dinah a chance to help Roy put his plant in the bag and tape it shut. Roy stared at the package for a few seconds without saying a word. "Are you sure it's ok that I give it to Ollie?" he asked Dina.

"Roy," Dinah said gently as she crouched down. She put her hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to give this pant to Oliver if you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with it. You can throw it away and no one will be the wiser."

Roy glanced at the bag. "I- I just get tired of being so different, you know? Everyone is always able to celebrate Mother's Day and I never have. And today in class when everyone was talking about their mom's… I felt so left out."

"I know you did, kiddo. I know it's hard for you. But remember that you still have a lot of other people who love you that your friends don't. Like Ollie and Hal."

"I can't give Hal the plant."

"And you have me."

"I do?" Roy frowned. "But you and Ollie haven't even known each other for a long time."

"I know, but that doesn't mean you and aren't friends, does it?"

"Of course not! I- I like being your friend!"

"I'm glad." Dinah stood up and ruffled his hair. "Everything will be ok, Roy. I promise."

Roy sighed. "Ok. But will you be here when I give the plant to Ollie?"

"Of course."

"Ok. Thanks." Roy heard the front door open and close, then glanced up at Dinah. "Should I give it to him now?"

"If you want to."

Roy thought for a moment, then nodded and grabbed the bag. When he walked into the front hall, Oliver was in the process of taking his jacket off. For a second, Roy hesitated in the doorway.

When Oliver saw him standing there, the man smiled wide. "Hey Roy," he greeted. A second later he noticed the bright pink bag in Roy's hand. "Whatcha got there?"

Roy practically ran up to Oliver and shoved ht bag into his hands. "It's for you because you're like a mom and I had to make it at school!" he explained in a rush.

There was a full moment where Oliver didn't say anything and stared at Roy with a partially opened mouth. "What?" he asked eventually. A hint of red crept up Roy's cheeks.

"I- I had to make this at school and- And I don't have a mom, but you're kind of like a mom. You do all the mom things, so I'm giving it to you."

Still confused, Oliver opened the bag and pulled out a flower pot with a flower planted in it. Something clicked in his mind. 'Oh. Mother's Day is on Sunday.' It'd been a long time since Oliver had last celebrated that particular holiday. 'And I'm guessing Roy never has.' He looked at Roy and saw how wide the boy's eyes were.

"Do you hate it?"

"…No. I don't hate it." Oliver set the plant down, then pulled Roy into a hug. "Thank you, Roy."

"You're welcome." Roy hugged Oliver back.

Over Roy's head, Oliver saw Dinah standing in the doorway. He smiled at her. 'I feel like she may have had something to do with this.' He pulled away and handed the plant back to Roy. "Why don't you go put this in the sun and give it some water?"

"Ok." Roy hurried back to the kitchen as Dinah approached Oliver.

"I'm assuming my new Mother-Like status is due to your influence."

"I may have played a part," Dinah admitted. "You really are the all-in-one parent for him though. It wasn't hard. And I hated seeing him upset. He deserves to feel included with his classmates."

"Thank you." Oliver leaned forward and gave Dinah a kiss. "Want to stay the night?"

"I'd love to."

"Great. It's going to downpour so I told Roy we'd stay in and watch a movie."

"Which means we're watching Indiana Jones again?"

"I hear it's always better the 500th time." He kissed her again. "I'll change then get dinner started."

"Sounds good." Dinah watched Oliver leave with a smile, then walked into the kitchen. She found Roy placing the plant in a sunny spot, a windowsill over the sink, and cleared her throat. "That's a nice spot."

"Hopefully Ollie can keep it alive," Roy replied as he hopped off the counter.

"I'll try to help keep it alive until Fall."

"Thanks." Roy looked at Dinah, playing with his fingers. "Thanks for helping me today."

"You're welcome, Roy. I'm happy to do it."

"Um… Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"Uh… You- You do a lot of that…mom stuff too, you know. You cook for me sometimes and you help me and you're a really great person… So…I know Ollie's already my kind-of-mom but…do you think you could be my kind-of-mom, too? Then- Then you and Ollie can share the plant."

Dinah's heart filled with joy and she couldn't help but smile widely. "Of course, Roy. I'd love that."

Roy beamed and ran over to hug her. As his arms wrapped around her, she lifted him into her arms and held him close. "Thanks, Dinah."

"You're so welcome, Roy. I'm glad I could help."


End file.
